If I Never Knew You
by bluekinu
Summary: It's time for a play yet again, but this time, it's a musical! Who will Mikan end up as her leading man in the end?


**If I Never Knew You**

**By: Bluekinu**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alice Academy or the song "If I Never Knew You" sung by John Secada & Shanice.**

* * *

**(Flashback to 2 days ago) **

_Narumi: You all know that the academy is holding a special event for the benefit of our nursery students, like Youichi's class' "help-a-central towner's- shop" project. And since this is a special event, only a few classes from all the levels will be participating. _

_ Yome: (whispers) I don't like what Mr.Narumi is thinking. _

_ Narumi: And I am proud to announce that your class is one of the chosen few, and as the teacher assigned for this program, I am thinking of doing a play inspired by the story: "Pocahontas." _

_(the class was filled with mostly rants from the students)_

_Narumi: Now I want everybody to look under their desks and see what role you'll be playing._

_(not for long, reactions started flying across the room)_

_Yuu: Cool, I get to be a Chieftain! (Chief Powtan) _

_Nanoko & Ana: What a relief (Indian girls) _

_Yome: Oh man, this guy's not only mean; he's ugly too. (Gov. John Radcliff) _

_Sumire: Whaaat?! I'll be an oldwiseman!! (Kekatu) _

_Ruka: Not bad. I'll be an Englishman. (Thomas) _

_Hotaru: … (Grandmother Willow) _

_Mikan: Wwhhyy me…? (Pocahontas) _

_Natsume: (John Smith) crumples his paper_

* * *

_  
**CLICK!**_

"I hope you guys are looking forward to this activity as much as I am." Narumi said cheerfully as he turned off the player. "By the way, there will be a practice tomorrow after class at the Music Room, especially for the actors." Narumi added before heading out the room, smiling to himself as if he knew something will come up soon.

The minute the door closed all of the students in Class B had their own reactions about the upcoming presentation Narumi just told them about. Surprisingly, more than half of the student's reactions went in favor of the presentation, while just about a handful students were unmoved.

"Cheer up Mikan, it's not as bad as you think." Yuu tried to cheer Mikan up who was already sulking at her seat.

"Look at the bright side Mikan, we're all in this together." Nonoko smiled and placed an encouraging hand over Mikan's shaking hands. Anna nodded and smiled in agreement.

Mikan looked up slowly, pressing her shaking lips tightly together, trying to control her tears from pouring out from her already puffy-watery eyes.

"Remember Mikan, this is a class activity, if you fail…you'll take the whole class with you." Hotaru said, her usual indifferent tone swept Mikan like a cold winter wind.

"Hotaru…how could you…" Mikan's voice cracked into a whisper.

"You should now be thinking of how to make **_him_** cooperate." Hotaru said, looking over at Natsume who was already walking towards the door.

Mikan pouted, her jaws quivered and she started to sniff.

Blink, blink… 

"This is so unfair." Mikan sulked, burying her face on top of her desk.

* * *

** That night**

_Natsume sat on the ledge just beside the window of his room. His eyes starring at the now empty moonlit school grounds, his thoughts not far away_.

"I'll really gonna get you for this Narumi." he whispered to himself, clenching his fists as he spoke.

_Natsume turned his head and looked at the papers lying on his bed, annoyed, he got down from the ledge and approached his bed, snatching the paper; almost crumpling each sheet. As soon as his eyes ran through the first line, the song immediately played in his head all to clearly, as if Narumi's player was turned on beside him, playing like it did that morning. Even if Natsume wanted so badly to stop the song form playing in his head, his mind wouldn't let him, nor would his eyes allow him to look away from the lyrics, and if that was not bad enough, his mind tormented him with images of Mikan, her smile, her laughter, even her stupid mistakes, all that made Mikan, Mikan_.

If I never knew you

If I never felt this love

I would have no inkling of

How precious life can be

And if I never held you

I would never have a clue

How at last I find in you

The missing part of me

In this world so full of fear

Full of rage and lies

I can see the truth so clear

In your eyes

So dry your eyes

And I'm so grateful to you

I'd have lived my whole life through

Lost forever

If I never knew you.

_A soft knock on the door broke Natsume's trail of thoughts._

"Why don't you give it a try Natsume?" Ruka said, his soft blue eyes looked at him calmly as he walked inside the room.

"That's easy for you to say Ruka, you're not gonna deal with the idiot." Natsume replied distastefully.

"Well, you don't really have to deal with her…It's quite the opposite actually." Ruka replied smiling.

Natsume shot an annoyed look at him, but Ruka smiled even more.

Natsume held out the papers to Ruka and said, "Why don't I just burn these instead."

"DON'T!" Ruka exclaimed.

Natsume smirked and handed the papers to Ruka. "It's decided then."

"Huh?" Ruka blinked.

"You'll do my part." Natsume smiled slyly and walked out of his room.

* * *

**The next day**

"Why the long face Mikan?"

"Yeah, that doesn't suit you."

"Huh? Oh, it's you Misaki, Tsubasa. Hello." Mikan replied, trying her best to smile.

"What's wrong? You're usually not like this. Something happened?" Tsubasa asked.

Mikan nodded.

Tsubasa and Misaki looked at each other and ushered Mikan to seat on a nearby bench.

"Did anyone bully you?" Misaki asked, her voice sounded as if she was ready to fight.

"Oh no!…I'ts not like that." Mikan waived her hands frantically. "Well…it's just that we have this presentation with Mr.Narumi…I'm on my way for practice now."

"Ooohhh….**that** presentation?!" Misaki grinned.

"You…you know?!" Mikan exclaimed, her face turning white.

Tsubasa nodded, "You do know that the two of you are quite popular here at the academy."

Mikan's jaw dropped, she couldn't believe Tsubasa was actually finding her situation amusing.

"It's alright, you'll be fine Mikan." Tsubasa smiled, "And don't let us keep you from your practice." he added, grinning comically.

"O—kaay…" Mikan replied awkwardly as she turned around and walked away, dragging her feet behind, for some reasons Tsubasa and Misaki's encouragements turned out to be more nerve-wracking than a support for her.

"How's the practice doing?" Narumi greeted everyone as he stepped inside the Music Room.

"We're done with the scenes, it's just the song that we need to practice now…if the lead actor will come." Yuu pointed out skeptically.

"Do you guys really think that he won't show up?" Narumi asked, his cheerful voice doesn't seem to falter given the situation the student's are in.

Everybody sighed.

"Mr.Narumi, I think you should re-cast the lead actor." Hotaru suggested while she scanned through the virtual class list she recently invented.

"Uhm…I'll fill up for Natsume." Ruka answered uneasily as he entered the room.

"I knew it." Hotaru whispered to herself.

"Oh well, I guess it can't be helped." Narumi said, still very cheerful as he motioned Mikan and Ruka to take their places.

"I'm glad you showed up Ruka. I'll ask Mr.Narumi to do something about our roles." Mikan whispered and smiled.

"Uhh..Mikan…I'm just…" Ruka was cut-off as the music started to play, signaling Natsume's lines are about to start.

_Mikan then stepped forward, breathing in as she readied herself for her part._

If I never knew you

I'd be safe but half is real

Never knowing I could feel

A love so strong and true

I'm so grateful to you

I'd have live my whole life through

Lost forever

If I never knew you.

_Ruka stepped in and faced Mikan, singing in Natsume's lines as if he knew it by heart._

I thought our love would be so beautiful

_Mikan somehow forgot how nervous she felt, seeing Ruka's comforting smile made it a lot easier for her to sing._

Somehow we made the whole world bright

_Ruka reached out his hand to Mikan and Mikan gave hers. They sang together beautifully, making the others nod in agreement._

I never knew that fear and hate could be so strong

All they'd leave us where these whispers in the night

But still my heart is saying we were right

We were right

_On a nearby tree, Natsume watched, concealing himself under the shadows of the tree branches, his deep brown eyes focusing intently on Mikan.  
_

* * *

**The play**

"What do you think Tsubasa?" Misaki whispered, not taking her eyes off from the stage.

"I knew Mikan will pull through… it's with him that I am surprised." Tsubasa replied grinning.

"This is so good. I never thought they would sound so well together, considering everything was just practiced in a short time." Yuu complimented, standing at the backstage.

"It all turned out so well, and thank to Hotaru's inventions our props looks so…unique." Nanoko said, smiling while she held her mechanical bow and arrow props.

Yome shook his head, scratching it as he said, "Mikan's head is quite confusing to read right now. Her thoughts are all mixed up."

"Good thing she's still on her feet. I guess the anti-panic make-up works." Hotaru said flatly.

Yuu, Anna, Nonoko & Yome had sweat drops on their head.

_Mikan placed her hands over her chest and moved closer to the audience. The spotlights dawned on her as she continued to sing_.

If I never knew you

If I never knew this love

I would have no inkling of

How precious life can be

_Mikan turned her head to face her partner who was bent on concealing his face using the helmet costume he wore on his head. Mikan smiled calmly as the lights beamed at Natsume as his turn came up again._

There's no moment I regret

Since the moment that we met

If our time has gone too fast

I've lived at last

_Natsume reached out for Mikan's left hand and held on to it as they sang together._

I thought our love would be so beautiful

Somehow we made the whole world bright

_Mikan faced the audience, and then looked up at the moonlit sky backdrop._

I thought our love would be so beautiful

We'd turn the darkness into light

_Mikan faced Natsume again, her eyes shone beautifully, and whether it was because of the lighting or simply Mikan's vibrant aura, Natsume had a hard time taking his eyes off her as they sang._

And still my heart is saying we were right

We were right

_By this time the lights softened a bit, Natsume not letting go of Mikan's hand ushered her to sit on a nearby "rock."_

We were right

And if I never knew you

I'd have live my whole life through

_Mikan sat down smiling, looking at Natsume who also sat beside her_

Empty as the sky

_They were shoulder to shoulder sitting next to each other. The lights dimmed and focused on them. Mikan rested her head on Natsume's shoulder and Natsume rested his head on hers as they sang their last lines together._

Never knowing why

Lost forever

If I never knew you.

_The curtains closed slowly and the audience cheered on. Narumi looked on from the sidelines, and from the smile on his face, it was clear how glad he is.  
_

* * *

"There you are." Mikan bent over a bit, looking down at Natsume who was napping under a tree, his face covered by the helmet props he wore for the play. "The class is having a small celebration for the successful play we had." Mikan added happily. 

"And you seriously think I'll go? You really are stupid." Natsume replied without even bunging, his voice irritated.

Mikan twitched her lips, determined she continued, "Soo…what made you decide to sing…?"

_Natsume exhaled heavily and sat up. Mikan saw his annoyed face and she stood up straight as well. Natsume glowered at Mikan but he was caught of guard when he aw her still wearing her Indian costume, the light brown ensemble, the colorful tassels that adorned the edges of her skirt and blouse, and the brightly colored head band she wore on her forehead with a matching feather definitely brought out Mikan's vibrant aura. _

"Ruka wouldn't stop nagging me to play the part." Natsume replied flatly, turning his head away and towards the horizon.

Mikan stood still, but Natsume saw a small smile forming on her lips. "It's just that the lyrics suited me better than Ruka." he added, resting his back again on the tree trunk.

"I see…" Mikan replied softly, her face relaxed to a serene smile.

Natsume instinctly turned his head and reacted, "What's with that look?"

"Ooohhh nothing." Mikan smiled brightly, scratching her head playfully.

"You can really be so annoying Mikan." Natsume grumbled.

Mikan bursted out laughing cheerfully, "Thank you Natsume!"

"Huh?…For what?" A wave of confusion and annoyance swept over Natsume's face, and it didn't help him to all to see Mikan smiling down at him. "I didn't sing for you, you know. If it wasn't for Youichi's class..." he added defensively but flatly, trailing off as he didn't see the need to explain himself any further.

Mikan shook her head gently, "That's not it Natsume. I said thank you because you said my name."

Natsume didn't move one bit; he kept his eyes straight upfront, not looking at Mikan.

"You know what? You make me really happy whenever you call me by my real name." Mikan added happily.

Natsume shrugged and Mikan laughed.

_Natsume looked up and saw Mikan still laughing. Even if he hated to admit it, he found himself drawn to Mikan in ways he never thought was possible. Mikan turned around and faced the horizon, closing her eyes as a soft late afternoon breeze blew throughout the school grounds. _

_Natsume sighed softly, a small smile broke down his lips_, "Lost forever, if I never knew you…" _he recited to himself contentedly. _


End file.
